Mabee Learning Commons Rotating Art Gallery

Join us for the next artist talk of the semester in the rotating art gallery during the 2023-2024 academic year. For the sixth year in a row, the Mabee Learning Commons rotating art gallery features a variety of art exhibitions and talks. Local visual artists will display their works and give an artist talk in the library. These events are free and open to all in the university and the broader community.

Artist Talk, Kammy Downs: Thursday Mar. 7, 2024: 12:15-1:15pm
Mabee Learning Commons, first floor
Plants and roots are visual metaphors for unseen aspects in life. The plant world is patient, whispering mysteries of the spiritual while providing beauty and healing. The daily practice of working a surface is symbolic for self-care in a way that is in union with the natural world. Formally, my work connects with the feminine qualities of traditional domestic materials. Fabric allows the stitching of threads into its fibers and works well with low-cost drawing materials to express simplicity and subtle growth. I invite the viewer to contemplate nature’s qualities of beauty, healing, and inherent knowledge of the spiritual.

Kammy Kennelley- Downs grew up in rural Kansas where her plant life aesthetic was developed. Downs received her bachelor’s degree in art education from Emporia State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Drawing at Ft. Hays State University. She has been teaching art for 20+ years and participates in various social practice works including Seeds4HOPE. At present, Downs leads art activities at a KC shelter for homeless Veterans and teaches at KCKCC and NorthStar Academy.  She and her husband have five grown daughters, five grandchildren, and reside in Kansas City, MO. Her artworks may be seen at kammydowns on Instagram and her website, www.kammydowns.com.

Presented in partnership with the Department of Arts & Humanities.